Cheaper and cleaner than uranium, thorium could be the new reliable source of nuclear energy. Even environmentalists are backing it

It has 200 times the energy content of uranium yet creates 1,000 times less
radioactive waste. It is as common as lead, as cheap as chips and can be
carried in your pocket. And, appropriately for a metal named after a god,
thorium is being touted as the metal that could save the world.

A growing number of scientists, engineers and politicians believe that the
needs of Britain and the world will not be met by fossil fuels, wind farms
or uranium. They believe the future lies in thorium nuclear power.

Tomorrow an international conference of thorium advocates will meet in New
York to raise the profile of the “forgotten element”.

Supporters of the International Thorium Energy Organisation include some
unlikely figures. Along with the usual collection of bearded engineers and
grey-haired civil servants are green activists who have finally conceded
that nuclear power has a place in a zero